The Merit of Steel
---- The Holy Knight compound was a quiet, refined place. Wide-windowed marble halls, rooms adorned with rich mahogany furniture and almost no sense of homeliness. It was all business. Wren Llewellyn was quite familiar with the place, having been raised there for the majority of her life. Her footsteps were quiet, bare feet crossing the cold floor with no sound. Today was different than most days she had spent here previously. She wasn't here to see Azriel, the woman who raised her. She was here for business. To attempt to join the ranks of the exalted knights. Her breath was light as well, steady and smooth as she walked down the hall, reaching a closed door. Behind it was Abaddon, the man she was instructed to meet. He was famous at the academy. The Holy Knight that turned down every attempted squire. She had heard that he had viciously high standards, though, Azriel seemed to think that Wren would meet them. Wren had no qualms with becoming a Holy Knight, in fact, it would make Azriel incredibly proud. It was the situation that bothered her. She already faced enough challenges because of who she was, she didn't want to earn the rank of squire because of who she was related to. Wren put her doubts to rest, shutting down the jumped rush of self-doubt by digging her fingernails into her palms. She was no spoiled child. She didn't need to be coddled or handed the position. Either she would earn it because of her own skill or she would walk out another disappointed candidate. She wouldn't allow her pride to be ruined by a rescue from Azriel. Wren knocked on the door, two quick hard raps to alert the man inside. Checking a few papers on his desk, the man, whose real name is Parker despite being mostly known by his alias Abaddon of the Holy Knight, felt certainly bored. He preferred field activities for the most part and this was the tenth time one of the Guards asked him to check the prison's security system essay. Abaddon's head perked up, having heard the sound from the door, "Hmmmmm? Who is it, is this you bringing my Coffee, Danette?" Abaddon's voice came off in a singing manner, he seemed to ooze happiness, "ANYWAY, you can come in! I hope the coffee has got that amount of sugar I always like!" Wren opened the door, her head poking through the doorway, "I don't have coffee for you," her voice was fairly quiet, her head tilted slightly. She knew all of the Holy Knights, she had been in their company for quite a while, though she didn't think any of them, knew who she was, other than her relation to Azriel. "Azriel told me to talk to you. She said you were searching for a squire, may I come in?" She enquired politely. "...Oh" Abaddon suddenly said "That's...sad, I had a craving for coffee. But let's get this done with" He organized the immense amount of papers on the desk, putting them down as he got up "So you're here by Azriel's recommendation hmmm? Come in, come in!" He said, almost eager, gesturing for her with his right hand "Entering like that must give you some confidence." He waited for her to enter the room, continuing "Though, now I do remember, MS. Azriel did tell me someone was gonna come. Hahahaha, nothing new to be honest with you! They come and go really quickly, but I have this feeling that you'll succeed, being a personal recommendation!" He smiles, walking around a bit as he fixed his gloves and moved to open the curtains of the room's window. Wren stiffened at his remarks, gliding across the room before she settled softly into a chair. "Please don't let Azriel influence your opinion of me and my talents at all," Her tone became curt, sharper than it had been before. She popped her knuckles one by one in frustration. This was what she wanted to avoid. Abaddon stopped suddenly, his eyes widened and his mouth closed at her words "I...see." Were the only words to come out after that "So do you think you're different from the others who came before you?" His tone wasn't that of mock, in fact, Abaddon was truly curious about what she would even do, looking at her expression "You seem really...serious about it? I don't see anything special so far...and I tell you I'm a good observer" Her eyes narrowed slightly, head returning to a bird-like cocked position, as her silver hair slipped past her ears, "You haven't even taken the time to learn my name and you're already judging me. I happen to think I am quite different than anyone you've interviewed before. Don't pass me by." Abaddon smiled widely and laughed a bit "At this point, from how many I had to look at, it's quite hard to not observe-" He stopped briefly, noticing the pointed shape of her ears "...I know you're not only Ms. Azriel's...recommendation, you're also her kid from what I remember," He took a step towards her "But how come your ears are elvish?" Wren quickly righted her head, recognizing that her tell-tale gesture often revealed her heritage. "Unless you're a dolt, you'll realize that I'm adopted," she replied, all previous sense of tact lost. "BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! What a fool I was, hmmmmmm," Abaddon actually cried with much laughter, wiping his tears with his left hand "But an Elf huh? Not someone I see every day..." He paused a bit, regaining his serious expression and sitting on top of his desk. It looked like he was about to say something about her being an Elf, judging from how he looked at her ears "Then again...I still don't see anything special, so please, I don't want to waste any time, I hafta' to do these documents, you see." A sweet smile crept onto Wren's face, drastically contrasting the obvious emotions she felt. This was frustrating. Through grit teeth, she spoke carefully, "Then why don't I show you something special," she challenged. Within an instant she was on her feet and around the desk, traces of magic still hanging in the air as she stood with no distance apart from him, looking at him intently, "I've got tricks you've never seen before." Abaddon was surprised at her words and simple action. Nevertheless, smiling widely himself, Abaddon got up from the desk as she soon as she advanced, "Is that so?!" He stared at her intensely, almost challenging her, his aura flaring out as well in a blue tone. "Chwaon." The word was barely a whisper, lost in the gust of wind that engulfed the room, sending Abaddon's papers flying. The wind pressed against the protesting windows, until the shoddy lock let up, the windows rocketing open as the breeze left as quickly as it came. Wren walked over to the window, stepping over to look over the courtyard. "Let's take this outside why don't we?" She smiled again, "I wouldn't want to mess up your precious work." Abaddon smiled at her attitude, going as far to make a comical yet genuine comment "Thanks for the consideration! Let me fix this first though" His right hand got engulfed by a rainbow-like sphere, the papers floating in mid-air drawn towards it. Taking a hold of them, Abaddon organized the papers like they were before, putting them on the desk again. "It should be better!" He gave her a thumbs up before running towards the large window, her body blocking half of it "Let's do it!" He jumped through the free side, his room being on the first floor Abaddon wouldn't have to worry much about the distance. He landed swiftly, raising dust as he fell. Wren followed, falling lightly onto the ground before walking to the center of the courtyard, her familiar blade Drywrhydd appearing in her hand. "Any rules you want to set to protect your pride?" Wren taunted again. His head tilted at her statement "Huuuuuh? Of course not, I'm actually interested in proving your claim...most if not all of the previous Cadets didn't want to deal with a physical test" Abaddon sighed, his left hand shining that same rainbow as before, making his spear Longinus fly off another window and into his hand "And to be honest, half of them couldn't even pass the mental test...so it got boring" Abaddon spun the Lance briefly, gripping it with both his hands as he took a fighting stance "Surprise me, Elf-Girl!" Despite his claim, Abaddon wasted no time and dashed towards Wren using his incredible speed, his spear was thrown half-way through. Abaddon himself didn't stop as he prepared to deliver a flying kick at Wren's stomach, executing a double attack with his lance which was aimed for her leg, both at amazing speed. Wren's legs tensed for one moment before she was off, Longinus digging itself into the ground where she once had been. She was on the right of Abaddon, her blade in a backgrip as she thrust it forward to bash the hilt into Abaddon's airborne unguarded back. Abaddon couldn't hide the happiness he had as Wren dodged his attacks, smiling at it widely. The leg he used to try and kick Wren, hit the ground instead, giving him balance as he spun to his right as soon as Wren had moved. Longinus shone like a rainbow, Abaddon using Territory to make it fly back to his hands. Having grabbed it, Abaddon put immense force into a possible clash against Wren's blade, trying to push her back with the impact. The trajectory of Wren's strike changed, using the blade to block the spear. She held her ground for a moment, breaking away before regaining control of her blade in two hands, facing forward. She poured some of her aura into Drywrhydd, letting it glow in faint silver energy before she twisted her hip and swung from the side with the full force of her body weight toward his abdomen. Abaddon frowned at the impact, slightly taken aback by the resistance. Instantly regaining composure, he dashed forward using his left hand to spin Longinus in front of him, at the same time Wren had decided to attack. His arms and lance still coated in that Rainbow energy of Territory, enhancing their momentum, Abaddon would use the spinning to deflect the blade itself by hitting it directly. Only then would Abaddon march forward to deliver an explosion to Wren's torso through his right hand's gesture. The blades clashed again and Wren's bones rattled at the impact. She was caught off guard at the explosion, barely having time to react. It sent her skittering backward, thick dust rising after the impact. As it cleared it revealed a faint glow, from where four diamond-like constructs of energy were formed in front of her, connecting into a larger shape that had shielded her from the brunt of the blow. "Dyrfulaif." The command was stern, the elvish steel in her hand beginning to crackle as it attracted and generated a wild electric current. Wren swung her blade in an arcing path from down by her waist upwards until it crossed her body. As her arm moved a streak of lightning peeled of the blade, zipping through the air to curve directly into Abaddon's side. "Oho! Nice!" Abaddon smiled at Wren's prowess, gripping the Longinus with both hands this time as it still shone due to Territory, the energy having focused on the blade of the spear. With a quick movement, Abaddon slashed the air itself in a vertical manner from to bottom, sending an explosion-esque wave against the wave of lightning. The clash between both caused an immense explosion between Abaddon and Wren, making a big cloud of smoke rise. Wren continued her onslaught, approaching him in close range before linking together three consecutive strikes, one aimed at his left shoulder, another on his left side and the third across his body. "You seem really persistent!" Abaddon almost yells, smiling. He evaded the first by quickly jumping back, the second barely missing his tight shirt which was cut open. The third, however, was successfully blocked by Abaddon using his left hand to spin Longinus in a sudden movement, parrying away her attack would leave Wren's guard open, which was when Abaddon lunged forward to deliver an elbow attack at her jaw using his right arm. He hit her squarely in the jaw, knocking her head upwards as she staggered backward. Wren's blood boiled, eyes alight as she smiled, wiping the swelling drops of blood from her mouth. "What can I say, I'm determined!" She shot forward once more, her blade becoming engulfed in a yellow sheen of light. Drywrhydd gleamed deadly in her hands as she prepared a forceful overhead swing to his head. She was well aware that if she hit it would be lethal, though she had faith in his abilities to defend against it. That's what she was counting on. "And really fast!" Abaddon smiled and his magic power flared through the entire area around him and Wren, all the while he spun Longinus furiously over his head "Foolish Stab!!!" In a quick manner, Abaddon stopped the lance and attacked to his left by furiously thrusting backward. The energy around them served as some sort of Space where Abaddon and Wren switched places almost instantly due to the former's command, making it where Abaddon's lance would hit Wren's back. Longinus once again shone with the same rainbow energy, prepared to cause an explosion upon contact. Wren found herself in his position, eyes wide. How. There wasn't time to discover an answer. She pivoted to her left, narrowly missing the lance whizzing by where her spine once was. She felt her the skin above her hip tear as it grazed her side. Stinging pain shot through her body, teetering off balance for a moment, yet, Wren still fought on. She swung, her hip pivoting as a sidestroke towards from her left came towards him. The brilliant blade gleamed with charged light, continuing in its path. It wasn't Abaddon she was targeting, it was his lance. The two weapons clashed. The flat of Drywrhydd slamming into Abaddon's spear, battering it away from her body. Bright blinding white light burst from the collision for an instant before it disappeared. It was her spell Caneitia, inflicting temporary blindness to the recipient of the spell. Wren smiled, smug. She knew that she had incurred his downfall. Abaddon smirked as Wren struck her sword against his weapon, that bright light coming soon after. Abaddon would sure admit that surprised him, the light taking away his vision as he lost his smile and moved back slightly. He had to think fast, instants having passed since his blindness came, "Good," Despite the impact, Abaddon's feet were still on the ground. Due to their weapons colliding, there was already some distance between them. Abaddon took it as an opportunity, through his feet he sent a Territory aura into the ground, "I don't know for how much time it'll last...but, elf girl, you're not invulnerable to blindness too!" An explosion followed and threw both of them away, smoke rose due to the impact and covered the entire area. Abaddon hoped that the cloud was big enough to limit Wren's vision as he waited for the light spell to shrug off. Wren sprung backwards, coughing as dust and smoke clouding her field of vision. He was smart. Her body ached and throbbed and the knot in her stomach was growing. She had three minutes. She had to act and finish it. Right now. Wren pushed her aura into Drywrhydd, imbuing it with Haerlaif. Wind began to swirl around the blade, pressurizing until it burst. It thrust out from her body, forcing the dust and smoke to clear into the atmosphere. The field was clear. She outstretched her off hand, mumbling under her breath, "Chwaon." A gust of air burst from underneath Abaddon's feet, hoping to raise him into the air before rapidly, rotating him with another gust to disorient him. Abaddon had to admit his forehead was full of sweat. This girl, she certainly had him on the ropes this time, "Territory can't reach her. It's no use to mask myself anymore. Think Abaddon, you've never been blinded like this." His eyes still closed, Abaddon smiled, despite the situation "I've underestimated you, no matter how much I knew of your abilities, that's why I lost." Abaddon could think fast, which is why while he thought of the many possibilities his feet were already surrounded with rainbow energy. An explosion quickly occurred below them, sending Abaddon flying upwards and away from the gust of wind that started to appear "Tch..." Abaddon grunted, his legs feeling the pain of the explosion, part of his pants burnt off. He could still use his arms though. Quickly, he spun Longinus in front of him which made his body move slightly backward. Even though he wasn't sure if he was close to the ground, Abaddon spun Longinus below himself this time, decreasing the falling momentum of his body. A soft gust of wind raised Abaddon for a brief moment, before lowering him gently to the ground. Wren put her hand down, absentmindedly flicking her sword through the air once more as she approached. "The blindness will wear off any second now, your vision might be a bit blurry though," Wren said matter-of-factly. Her smile was broad and proud, eyes shining. It was an indisputable victory that served him right for how he treated her. "Thanks!" He gave a thumbs-up towards no one, not being capable of localizing Wren after all. Abaddon got up, his legs still a bit shaky from his own attack "Um, are you sure? I feel like it's fading awa- IS THAT A LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL?!" Abaddon opened his arms widely, he spun around as if trying to locate her once again "Squire Wren! HELP ME!" She felt light, a thin smile tugging at her lips. She could hear her heart booming in her chest. He had called her his squire. Wren grabbed his arm, holding him steady, posing an irritated scowl at his antics, "Stand still until you can see again." "Roger!" He suddenly stopped, his body straightened as if he was about to march, although she still held him. "Oh" Abaddon said simply, his mouth gaped open "OH" He looked around "It's back, I can see again!" Another thumbs up was pointed at her. "That's quite a tricky spell, Squire Wren! For someone like me who never experienced it or has no counter to it, definitely a table-turn," Abaddon patted the top of her head as he said all of it. He looked behind him. "So, we need to officialize it right?" Wren ducked under his hand, smoothing her hair. "You tell me," She grumbled in response. Azriel had never told her anything about the process for selecting squires and even with all of her investigating as a child, she didn't get very far in finding her answers. All she knew about were their codenames, though she didn't even know Azriel's true name. "I tell yes then!" Abaddon smiled once again, pointing his right thumb at himself playfully. "A Holy Knight kind of...sees themselves in their squire? That's a weird way to put it! AHAHAHAHAHA!" His eyes closed as he laughed. "Azriel has also told me of some of your feats in the Magic Council...ever since you were part of the Academy," Abaddon scratched the back of his head and approached the building, expecting Wren to follow him. "You've also got a strong personality, I can tell...you're really the best candidate in the many years I've worked here!" He fisted his pectoral. "My real name is Parker, codenamed Abaddon, and I fully welcome you, Squire Wren Llewellyn!" Wren followed him, almost stunned silent by his odd behavior. She knew it would take quite a deal of patience to keep up with him, "Thank you," She said politely, absentmindedly pendulum swinging Drywrhydd back and forth at her side, "I'm getting a codename too, right?" Category:Roleplay Category:QOS Roleplay Category:RP